


The Art of Language

by shadowblade_tara



Series: Nyctophilia [4]
Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Language, M/M, Swearing, language description, repost, venom has their own language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 09:48:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18990217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowblade_tara/pseuds/shadowblade_tara
Summary: Eddie learns that Venom has their own language.  They primarily use it for swearing.





	The Art of Language

Venom has their own language.

It’s not something Eddie hears often, mostly when Venom is talking to themself. He never draws attention to it. It’s a fascinating piece of Venom’s culture, and Eddie gets the feeling Venom would rather pretend like their culture doesn’t exist. Not that he blames the symbiote for that.

It’s not the fact that Venom has their own language that surprises Eddie, or the fact that Venom occasionally slips into it. 

What really surprises him is that he _understands it._

It takes him a few times hearing it to realize it’s not English. It’s not anything that remotely sounds like English. In fact, Eddie would be hard-pressed to say that it’s actually a language in the sense that humans hear. It’s emotions and images and colors and smells all scrambled together that somehow form a completely coherent message in Eddie’s mind. It’s beautiful.

Venom primarily uses it for creative swearing.

When Eddie is with Anne or Dan, he wears a wristband to hide his new tattoo. Venom doesn’t like it, but they do understand it, and for that Eddie is grateful. That doesn’t mean that Venom doesn’t swear at it every time Eddie puts it on, in whatever the symbiote native language is actually called.

 **We’re guessing Anne asked us for dinner again?** Venom grumbles. **Wanted to go out tonight.**

Eddie grins at his reflection, which still shows Venom’s face. Makes getting dressed interesting. “This won’t be too bad. It’s just Anne, actually, and it’s the burger joint three blocks over.” _That_ immediately perks the symbiote up. Eddie laughs. “Yeah, figured you’d like that.”

**Nathan makes best burgers.**

“Yes he does.” Eddie grabs the wristband and slides it on. Venom wraps themself around Eddie’s wrist, just under the band, like they’re protecting the tattoo.

And there it is, the swell of bruised color and plastic smoke and sandpaper that Eddie’s mind always translates slightly differently depending on the situation at hand. This time – 

He chokes. “V, man – I really don’t think you can physically do that to a piece of fabric.”

Venom goes completely quiet for about two seconds. **You – you understood that?**

Eddie blinks. “Yeah.”

**How much?**

“Well, considering that all you do is swear enough to make a sailor blush, I don’t know how much.” He grabs his keys from the table and heads out the door, making sure his Bluetooth is still attached to his ear. It’s drastically reduced the number of looks he gets. Venom falls silent again. Eddie frowns. “Am I not supposed to understand it?”

**Don’t know. No other host ever has.**

“So I’m weird. Nothing new there.”

That earns him a laugh out of the symbiote, and Eddie has to grin.

Point to him.

/-------/

Venom stays quiet during the dinner with Anne. 

Thankfully, the doctor is not there. Venom still hasn’t quite forgiven him for the MRI – then again, neither has Eddie. Venom likes Anne well enough, they just don’t like having to meet her like this. More importantly, they don’t like having to hide the tattoo.

The tattoo shows that Eddie is _theirs_ , that they are _partners_ , but Anne doesn’t know this. She’s not supposed to know that Venom survived the fire. Eddie wants to protect Venom, wants it so fiercely that the symbiote can practically _taste it_. It’s a single-minded determination that frightens Venom if they bother to think too hard about it.

After all, humans are far more vulnerable to damage than a symbiote.

Speaking of.

They sit outside, eating their burgers and talking, Venom keeping a close eye out through the back of Eddie’s shirt. They figured out a position where they can watch without being seen, especially at night, and Venom uses it to keep Eddie safe while he spends time with Anne. It keeps Venom from getting bored.

There’s a man watching them from a block away. He looks shady, as Eddie would say, eyes bloodshot, hands constantly moving even as he stays right at the street corner. The interesting part is the stranger’s gaze isn’t fixed on Anne, even though she’s the one facing him.

It’s fixed on Eddie.

Venom’s own eyes narrow. _Try it, asshole. We DARE you._

Eddie freezes, chocolate milkshake halfway up to his mouth, before setting it back down. That has Anne’s attention. “Eddie?”

“Is there someone behind me?” he asks quietly. “I feel like I’m being stared at.”

Her gaze flicks up, finding the guy for the barest of glances, and she nods. “Some guy wearing a grey hoodie. Shorter than you, scrawny. Can’t really tell if he’s looking at you or just in our general direction.”

Venom decides to speak up. **Definitely at you. He’s been staring for the better part of five minutes.**

Eddie nods, more to Venom than to Anne. “Okay. Mind if we cut this short? He’s making me uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, of course.” They dispose of their trash and Eddie boxes up the last bites of hamburger (which Venom will most likely eat later) and walk away, Eddie keeping his chocolate milkshake. Anne smiles at him. “I don’t remember you liking chocolate all that much.”

Eddie just shrugs. “It’s a milkshake, and it’s one Nathan made. I don’t care what flavor it is.” Anne laughs, and some of the tension eases from Eddie’s shoulders. He walks her to her car, gives her a hug, and watches her drive away. With a small nod, he starts walking back to his apartment.

He can feel Venom poking their head out from under his shirt. **He’s not following us, but he is watching us.** they announce. **We should eat him anyway.**

“Can’t really eat someone for being a creeper, V.” Eddie says cheerfully. That elicits more of the bruised-plastic-sandpaper swearing, which has Eddie laughing. “Seriously, we need to clean up your language.”

**Don’t start with me – I’ve heard some of the things you call other drivers.**

“Oh, come on! That jackass was trying to force me off the road!” Venom laughs at him, and Eddie grins. “Seriously, though – one day, you’re gonna have to say something that’s not swearing or asking to eat someone.”

**Why?**

“Because. I think your language sounds cool.” He shrugs. “I like it.”

There’s a brief moment of silence while they walk the last block to the apartment building. Eddie decides to drop by and say hello to Mrs. Chen later, maybe get some more tater tots for a late-night snack. The hamburger will hold them over until about midnight, but Mrs. Chen stays open until 2AM. Venom would appreciate the snack.

**Eddie?**

“Yeah?”

They say something, pastel light and soft warmth and fall breeze, and Eddie places a hand over his heart and smiles.

“Right back atcha, V. Never forget it.”


End file.
